Editorial comment Greece finally succumbed to euro pressures and signed up on a bailout agreement. It is apparent that it is an unequal agreement between unequal parties. You don’t argue with your school teacher because, right or wrong, the school teacher wins. It’s the same with the EU (led by Germany and France) vis-à-vis Greece.…

Comment Eric Zuesse an investigative-historian analyzes in a powerful analysis crisis on the crisis in Greece. “How Fascist Capitalism Functions: The Case of Greece” lays bare the crude machinations of global capitalism. He exposes the ruthless way in which big capital and international financial agencies intervene in a crisis only to create spaces for the…

Edition 2: No. 123 Is India bending towards Israel? By Vijay Prashad* By abstaining from a crucial vote that would have allowed the ICC to investigate Israeli war crimes, India sends signals of a disturbingly different stance towards Palestine. A year ago, Israel began its assault on the Gaza Strip. More than 2,100 Palestinians died…

Edition 2: No. 122 The Gaza report shouldn’t be buried Mitchell Plitnick The United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) report on last summer’s fighting between Israel and Hamas came out on June 15. Before the ink on it was even dry, the Israeli government was condemning it as biased, and accusing the UN of trying…

Edition 2: No. 121 Israel seizes Gaza-bound boat in “act of piracy” Palestinian children take part in a rally to show support for the latest attempt to break the siege of Gaza by sea, at the Gaza City port on 28 June 2015. Ashraf Amra APA images Israeli forces boarded and commandeered the Marianne on…

The Islamic State in Libya: Slipping through the cracks of the political crisis As promising as the current political and militarized environment in Libya might appear to be for the Islamic State, the country is not quite ready to play social host for the group. Its expansion in Libya is the direct result of…

Edition 2: No. 120 Magazine: Because we are not children of a lesser god Right of Return: Three words around which the dignity and narrative of the Palestinians is wrapped and woven. Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa* explains what the Right of Return means to her. “A million stories are embedded into iron keys that open lost…

Edition 2: No. 119 Editorial comment Israel’s political schizophrenia is there for all to see. On one hand, Israel claims it is the only real democracy in the region. On the other hand, its political menu consists of a variety of oppressive devices with which it seeks to neutralize Palestinian resistance. Democracy in even the…

Mursi’s death sentence and the creation of a self-fulfilling prophecy Ousted president, Mohamed Morsi sentenced to death by Egyptian court The recent sentencing to death of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi and 121 others illustrates the farcical and politicised nature of the Egyptian judiciary which has, in the past two years, acted…

Edition 2: No. 118 The time for courage and vision for Middle East peace is now: UN By Jeffrey Feltman* The search for peace in the Middle East is, once again, at a crossroads. Negotiations on the two-State solution have stalled. The region, meanwhile, is threatened by violent confrontation and extremism, potentially throwing the Palestinian-Israeli…

Will the Syrian regime survive? By Afro-Middle East Centre Following recent rebel advances and regime defeats in Syria, speculation has been rife among commentators and some among the opposition about whether this represents the imminent demise of the Syrian regime. Regime losses since the end of March, including the complete loss of a second major…

Edition 2: No. 117 Israeli Extremism Will Encourage Global Boycott By Omar Barghouti* Israel has elected the most fanatic government in its history. But many Palestinian human rights activists and politicians expect this government, an unpalatable cocktail of right, far-right and fundamentalist Jewish parties, to be the mother of all silver-lined clouds. This drastic shift…

URGENT ACTION DETAINED PARLIAMENTARIAN RISKS UNFAIR TRIAL Palestinian parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar is facing an unfair trial before an Israeli military court on several charges. On 4 May an administrative detention order which allowed her to be held without charge expired after the Israeli military reduced her detention period from six months to one month.…

India turns Nepal’s tragedy into revolting hegemonic plan Ranjan Solomon Director Badayl and Editor Hard Truths It always seems that a catastrophe in the neighborhood is the signal for India to intrude, meddle, and leave behind a mess. The evidence of this is massive. And yet, strongly nationalistic (even the liberals among us) Indians wonder…

Modi’s China visit causes worry When Prime Minister Narendra Modi helps himself to a Madison Square Garden-style “grand reception” in the itinerary of his forthcoming visit to China, it makes one feel uneasy. The roadshow implies that Modi is seeking a great distraction. China is a very important country for India’s foreign policy. When the BJP…

NDA brokers’ stealth of farmer’s lands through dubious land acquisition law Over the past several months, the BJP-led NDA government has aggressively hurried through changes in land acquisition policy. The corporate lobby is clearly losing patience with the government and wants its pound of flesh with no further delay. They poured…

Role of Social Activists in Democracy BY AMULYA GANGULI WHILE making the unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegation of how the judiciary is scared of ‘five-star’ activists belonging to NGOs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have forgotten the intimidatory presence in the background of outfits such as the RSS which can be called non-state actors where…

March of the saffron brigade: RSS reaches out to corporates, technocrats Vikas Pathak, Hindustan Times, New Delhi For four years now, the Sewa Dham school run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-allied Sewa Bharati in north-east Delhi’s Mandoli Saboli village has had the support of an unusual group – a…

“What you Have Seen Today is the First Drop of Rain”: Islamic State to Tunisia SEEMA MUSTAFA First of a four part series from Tunisia TUNIS: It is always true of this part of the world, it seems much worse from the outside than the in. And despite the major attack on tourists by the Islamic…

Edition 2: No. 115 Israel: The Stark Truth David Shulman Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming victory in Israel’s general election, Tel Aviv, March 18, 2015 Benjamin Netanyahu has won again. He will have no difficulty putting together a solid right-wing coalition. But the naked numbers may be deceptive. What really counts is the fact…